Birds in the Garden

I love attracting birds to the garden. While I have many plants during the growing season to attract birds--such as purple coneflower, black eyed susans, raspberries, serviceberry, rattlesnake master, and sunflowers-- there are fewer in the winter months. After all my crabapples and rose hips are gone, the birds are mainly attracted to the bird feeders and the bird baths during the winter months. As you see in the picture, I have a multi-armed post with three feeders in the backyard. The one on the left looks like a little house with suet on the ends for the woodpeckers. If you look closely, there is a downy woodpecker on the back of the bird feeder in the picture. In the center of the house, there is a covered space that I use for shelled peanuts (a favorite of woodpeckers, nuthatches, and blue jays) and a seed blend for cardinals and other song birds. In the center (back), is a bird feeder for small backyard birds. One time instead of putting my regular mix in the feeder, I filled it with shelled sunflower seeds. The goldfinches love the sunflower hearts and are no longer attracted to the nyjer seeds which are recommended for them. On the right, is an all-purpose feeder for small birds. In the picture, there is a tufted titmouse on the birdfeeder. It is also a favorite of the house finches who are sitting on the branches of the Ceris 'Forest Pansy' behind and to the right.